It’s become a growing trend in college hoops this season — a team’s pregame, prize-fighter walk from the locker room to the court. Surely the McNeese men’s program was not the originator, but the Cowboys’ strut became the most prominent in recent weeks thanks to the viral fame of team manager Amir “Aura” Khan, who led the walk-outs with a boombox strapped around his neck.
When 12-seed McNeese, champions of the Southland Conference, upset 5-seed Clemson to advance to the second round of this year’s NCAA Tournament, Khan’s legend grew. As did his list of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, believed to be the first such instances for a student manager.
The top-seeded Auburn Tigers have a similar pregame routine: manager hoisting a boombox on his shoulder as the players trail behind, heads bopping in time to the music. But there’s another, very distinct element. Before the players and coaches reach the court, they are met by a woman shouting “Let’s go! Let’s go!” over the pulsating beats, exchanging personalized handshakes with each of them as they walk toward the court. Some receive enthusiastic high fives. Head coach Bruce Pearl gets a fist bump. Senior forward Chad Baker-Mazara gets a hug and quick words of affirmation. Others unleash their own unique and intricate sequence of daps and snaps, one last hype ritual before tip-off.
ALL THE AURA pic.twitter.com/MnqtI3hjNR
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2025
McNeese has “Aura,” a 22-year-old team manager. Auburn has Djenane Paul — “Miss Djenane” — a 37-year-old executive associate athletic director and senior woman administrator with an MBA and a law degree.
“Miss Djenane brings the energy,” said star forward Johni Broome.
She’s the pregame Dap Queen. And much more.
“Whatever we need, she’s going to be there for us and try her best to get it done,” said Broome. “She’s a very special person to have on this staff.”
Djenane (pronounced “Jen-ann”) Paul arrived at Auburn in 2022 with an impressive resume of academia: undergrad and master’s degrees at Stony Brook, where she worked with the football program; law school at Marquette and Florida A&M; athletic department stints at VCU and Fordham. Her role at Auburn, where she’s the athletic department’s highest-ranking female administrator, includes deputy Title IX coordinator and a spot on the university’s strategic planning steering committee, along with daily input on managing the athletic department as a whole.
She’s also the department’s administrative oversight for the men’s basketball program, among other sports. It offers Paul an easy on-ramp to impact students directly, a passion that nudged her into college sports in the first place.
Djenane Paul asks for patience from players if they want to teach her a new handshake ritual. (Justin Williams / The Athletic)
Every team has someone in an oversight position, a point of contact between the program and administration, tasked with making sure the team’s needs are met and that players and coaches are operating compliantly within the university and NCAA. These roles tend to be rarely seen and more rarely heard, frequently around and traveling with the team, but not involved in the day-to-day preparation or performance.
All of it can foster a distant or awkward relationship in some instances — the silent chaperone making sure no one steps out of line. Paul aims to strip down those barriers.
“A lot of the players, I was involved in their recruiting process, met with them when they came on campus, have watched them grow and mature throughout their career,” said Paul. “It’s important to me that my relationship with each of them is individualized. I’m big about meeting them where they are.”
“Hype woman” is not part of her job description, but the handshakes were a natural extension of her approach. Fifth-year senior Dylan Cardwell was the first player to come up with one. Cardwell describes Paul as the “team mom” — some players even call her “Mama Djenane” instead of “Miss Djenane.” One of the few players who has been on the roster for each of Paul’s three seasons as oversight, Cardwell appreciated how often she checked in on the team, collectively and individually, asking what she could do to help.
When Broome briefly and dramatically left the Elite Eight win over Michigan State with an injury, Paul was one of those ushering the SEC player of the year and his parents to the locker room, then shuttling back and forth from the bench for updates.
“It’s nice to have someone who cares about her job but also cares about us,” Cardwell said. “She’s always there for me, making sure I stay on the right track, and I appreciate and love her for that dearly.”
Cardwell is also Auburn’s team leader, the locker room’s steadying, veteran presence. So when he and Paul came up with their own handshake — an elaborate medley of snaps and interlocking fingers — others began to follow suit.
“Everyone was copying our swag,” Cardwell said.
The collection of handshakes grew, evolving into the pregame walk-out ritual: Broome and former player KD Johnson shared a routine last season, which Broome has continued. Freshman Tahaad Pettiford gets two low fives before another up top. Senior Miles Kelly receives an array of palm and back-hand taps. All come in rapid succession, one person after another, not holding up the line. Paul’s only stipulation is that if a player or staffer wants something specific, they have to come up with it and teach it to her — patiently.
During the regular season, this sequence occurs near locker rooms and walkways that tend to be tucked away from the press and public. But in Atlanta last weekend, as 1-seed Auburn punched its ticket to the Final Four with wins over Michigan and Michigan State, Paul’s routine took place in the tunnel of State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks, just off the court — and just outside the media workroom.
“It usually happens behind the scenes,” she said. “(Coach Pearl) says all the time it takes a village, and I’m a member of that village. This is my way of adding whatever special spark I can give.”
Paul would prefer the attention stay on Auburn’s players and coaches, but many were eager to spin the spotlight back on her. Paul is one of those vital pieces that turns chaos into consistency. And, in Auburn’s case this season, a lot of victories.
“She’s one of the most integral people in this university and this program,” said Cardwell. “An unsung hero.”
Saturday, Auburn faces off against fellow 1-seed Florida in San Antonio. It’s the program’s second-ever trip to the Final Four, with a chance to win its first national championship in school history. Paul — “Miss Djenane” — will be there, the last line of hype before the Tigers takes the floor, ready to lend a hand.
“It’s been incredible,” she said. “I’m living out my dream doing this.”
(Top photo of Auburn’s Dylan Cardwell and Deputy AD Djenane Paul: Courtesy of Zach Bland / Auburn Athletics.)
